Taylor Swift Unleashes New Single 'Look What You Made Me Do'

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 04: Musician Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic on February 4, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for DIRECTV)

After hitting a new high in her already-impressive career with her all-pop album 1989 and its many radio smashes, Taylor Swift is ready to make another go at reaching the top of the charts and being the focus of pop culture-related discussions for at least the next year or so. The singer-songwriter has officially kicked off the next phase of her career with the release of her new single "Look What You Made Me Do", which is being promoted as the first single from Swift’s upcoming sixth full-length Reputation, which she announced would be released on November 10.

"Look What You Made Me Do" is a serious departure for the pop star, even considering the fact that she recently ditched the style that initially made her a household name. The song's intro makes it sound like this will be yet another fairy tale—the kind that she has sung so many times before—but nothing could be further from the truth. After a few seconds, it becomes clear that this is not the Taylor we have all come to know and love (or hate), and she confirms this assumption toward the end, claiming that old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. "Why? 'Cuz she's dead."

The electroclash/pop hybrid is at first grating at points, but after a few listens, Taylor's vision becomes less blurry...though it never fully plays out as she probably imagined it would. When she launched singles like "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" or "Shake It Off," anybody with a sense of what the public loves in a pop smash could tell that she had something special on her hands by the one-minute mark. This time around, it's not immediately clear how this latest effort will be received, or if she'll be able to pull off the faux affectation that already seems like it will define this point in her career.

It's fine that this doesn't sound like Taylor Swift, but it is a shame that it doesn't feel like her. The beat would be better-suited in the able hands of her friend Lorde, while the chorus comes off as if she's been taking vocal lessons from Fergie, and even the singer herself doesn't sound 100% convinced she can pull it off. The world was okay dealing with Taylor 2.0 when songs like "Shake" and "Blank Space" were doled out, but this version may have some kinks that still need to be worked out.

The country-turned-pop star began hinting that something was coming when she deleted everything off of her social media profiles last year, which instantly sent the internet into a frenzy wondering what was about to happen. A few days later, she began sharing short videos on both Twitter and Instagram depicting what looked like a snake moving slightly. After three clips in three consecutive days, the superstar finally revealed that yes, music was coming, and fans would only need to wait a little while longer to hear it.